Still firmly in contention to retain his CrossCar title, Thomas Eek Murstad has elected to take on a double programme this weekend at Nysum. Alongside his regular CrossCar campaign, the Norwegian will also compete in the FC2 category for OMSE at the Danish round of RallyX.
Murstad is no stranger to FC2. Earlier this July at Höljes, the reigning CrossCar champion made an impressive debut in the category. After breaking into the top three in one of the qualifying sessions, his weekend ultimately came to an end in the semi-finals.
At Nysum, however, Murstad is approaching this latest challenge without losing sight of his main priority.
“CrossCar remains the main project. Racing in FC2 is primarily a learning weekend. The objective is to get to know the car, understand its setup, and gain as much experience as possible in FC2.”
Taking on two categories will require the Norwegian to switch constantly between two very different cars and driving styles. Fortunately, having both cars based in the same area of the paddock should make those transitions much easier.
“The biggest challenge will be managing both programmes at the same time. Having both cars in the same place in the paddock makes things much easier. If we’d had to cross the entire paddock between sessions, it would have been far more complicated.”
Murstad also believes the additional track time could provide a mental advantage.
“We also chose this approach because it forces me to stay focused all the time. By competing in two categories, I have less time to overthink things or put pressure on myself. Spending more time on track than everyone else is an advantage as well.”
Alternating between the two cars should also give him a better feel for how the track evolves over the course of the weekend.
“Switching between two very different cars forces me to adapt my driving style all the time. I think moving back and forth between those two driving styles will be beneficial. The CrossCar will also help me keep track of how the track evolves over the course of the weekend.”
While FC2 represents an opportunity to learn, CrossCar remains Murstad’s primary focus. Level on points with Riku Huuhka, the Norwegian sits fourth in the championship standings but is still chasing his first RallyX North victory of the season.
After several weekends disrupted by mistakes and setbacks, Murstad and his team have decided to head in a new direction with the setup of their Speedcar chassis.
“I haven’t been consistent enough this season. Every time a weekend seemed to be going well, something ended up happening. Sometimes I spun, other times I braked too late at the wrong moment. We’ve decided to try a new baseline setup for the car.”
The early signs from that new configuration have been encouraging.
“The car feels more comfortable to drive. The goal is to be able to drive with a bigger margin instead of constantly being on the limit. We now have a new baseline setup, and I hope it will allow us to take the next step.”
Despite remaining firmly in the championship battle, Murstad refuses to become distracted by the points standings with the decisive phase of the season approaching.
“I haven’t even paid attention to the championship standings this season. I prefer to take one race at a time. A podium would already be a very good result. A victory would obviously be even better.”